Who is the antichrist:
when will he appear; how fierce will he be? These question and similar
ones are being asked by many religious-minded people today. It is our
desire to relieve your mind of all the confusion and erronous teaching
which you may have heard on the above subject.
Antichrist is not an individual as
many people are led to believe. "And every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that
spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even
now already is in the world."...1 John 4:3
You will notice that the above
scripture reveal to us that antichrist is a spirit, not a tyrant,
political dictator, Communistic leader or a person of like nature. John
tells us that this spirit of antichrist was in the world during his time.
"And even now now it is already in the world." This seems very
clear and were our nominal religions of today rightly dividing the Word of
Truth they would not be expecting antichrist to rise up in the form of a
man when the Bible definitely states that antichrist is a spirit. The
Bible also tells us in1 John 2:18---"Even now there are many
antichrist, whereby we know that it is the last time." In this
scripture we are given more proof that antichrist is a name not reserved
to one human being. You may ask..."If antichrist is not an
individual, what then is it?" Again , I state, in agreement with
God's Word, antichrist is a spirit that is directly in opposition to
Christ. The word "anti" means "against or opposed to."
Hence, antichrist means a spirit opposed to Christ.
1 John 4:3---states that every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is that
spirit of antichrist. Therefore, you may tell yourself that the spirit of
antichrist exist only among heathen and Jews. Not so--we are compassed
about by the spirit of antichrist. If you will look more closely you will
see that the scripture tells us that every spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is that spirit of antichrist. Most
everyone you come in contact with today will confess with his lips that
Jesus is come to flesh. However, this is not enough. While people, church
members in the majority, are admitting from a head knowledge that Jesus is
the Christ, they indulge in all the modern sins of the day which is
mockery in God's sight. Oh, the deceptive powers of Satan which will cause
men to live contrary to God's law and yet with their lips acknowledge Him!
Is this confessing Christ in spirit? No! The man who confesses Christ with
his spirit is one who will live in direct line with God's Word. His heart,
spirit or inner man confesses Christ by the life which he lives. We must
therefore draw these conclusions from the above: a man who denies God's
power to change a sinner into a saint by the blood of Christ; a man who is
in opposition to the truth; a man who worship God with his lips when his
heart is far from the Lord--they all comprise the spirit of antichrist.
The antichrist spirit is prevalent
throughout the world. The sectarian churches and ecclesiastical powers
which are gaining such popularity in these days are nothing more than
antichrist religion. Man with the combined power of Satan has streamlined
religion as he has everything else. The present trend of the world is that
man might make everything easier for himself; shorter work; more pay;
modern electrical gadgets; leisurely living and the like. This may be all
well and good, but when that spirit of ease carries over into the
religious world, conditions have then taken on a serious aspect. Man's
flesh calls out for a way which is easy and Satan is right there to
supply. Hence, a white-washed, watery-down gospel is preached by modern
ministry.
Seldom do we hear preachers cry out
against sin and worldliness. They are afraid of losing prestige with their
congregation, and as a result, they preach some flowery sermonettes and
the masses are contented. Shame, shame on the so-called religious leaders
of our day, opposing all that is true and holy and actually sending
peoples' soul to hell! Poor deluded men and women, relying on what the
preachers of Babylon (false religion) pretend to be true. The religious
world today is in deporable state. They are gathering in great membership
and their coffers are becoming full. They look upon this as successful
Christianity when all the while the moral state of man is becoming more
degraded. Murders, thefts, suicides, juvenile deliquency, etc. are
increasing at an alarming rate. This does not prove to me that religion is
the answer. Christ when accepted in the hearts is the answer. Sectism
today has taken Christ out of their worship and substituted socials,
banquets, large membership, great buildings with tall spires, men's favor.
etc. Where are the churches today with the old mourner's bench used for
the purpose of men yielding themselves to God and repenting of their sins?
Preacher's no longer labor because they love souls but for financial gain
involved. All these conditions combine to make up that spirit of
antichrist which opposes God's precious truth. Church members deny the
blood of Christ, they deny that a Christian can live without sin, they
call good evil and evil good. What is this but a spirit of antichrist.
If you find yourself in like
condition, I beseech you to seek the Lord, read and believe His Word and
confess your sins to Him. Thank and praise God that He still has a holy
remnant who worship Him in spirit and in truth. God still has a people who
are obedient to His laws and find it a delight to serve Him. This is what
composes God's church and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. The
ministers in God's church are not afraid to declare the whole counsel of
God. They cry aloud against sin and spare not.
The spirit of antichrist is laboring
hard to turn man's hearts from God but I am thankful that Christ leads His
people and we can be assured of certain victory.
We need not look to future with fear
expecting some tyrannical personage as the antichrist to raise up and
conquer. Men are living with a sense of fear trying to imagine what
antichrist will be like, trying to understand prophecy and unravel the
Scriptures without the Holy Spirit's teaching. Do you suppose a holy God
would reveal His truth to the hypocritical, pleasure loving, idol
worshipping professors of today? God reserves this for those who will meet
His conditions and live a life of abandonment to God. The human creeds
which religious zealots have concocted have served to turn God far from
them and all that remains is their own dogmatic views. If one of their
ranks would have any spirituality these creeds and human rule will most
certainly snuff out that spiritual life.
The spirit of antichrist is already
here and we who know Christ as our Saviour must renew our efforts to
oppose all that is unrighteous. Many times the battle waxes hot, but if we
keep our hearts and mind on Him we shall be the conquerors. If God be for
us, who can be against us?